Screening Analysis of Trace Heavy Metals in Powdered Milk

User Benefits

- ALTRACE realizes the same analysis sensitivity as the conventional instrument (EDX-7000) in 1/10 the measurement time. - Improved workability can be expected, as continuous analysis of up to 48 specimens is possible. - Simple screening analysis of heavy metals without complex sample preparation is possible because it is only necessary to set the sample in the sample holder.

Introduction

One test method for heavy metals in food products is the color reaction (staining) method, but because that method cannot identify metals (elements) or is influenced by the sample components, AA (atomic absorption spectrophotometry), ICP-AES (inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry) or ICP-MS (inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry) is used for elemental analysis. However, sample preparation for these test and analysis methods requires a lot of work, such as component extraction with reagents and acidic cleavage, and in the case of the staining method, individual differences in judgment have become an issue in production process and quality control. For this reason, we propose a method using energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (EDXRF), which enables simple analysis in the entire process from sample preparation to measurement and judgment. In general, quantitation by EDXRF at levels below 1 ppm is difficult, because these values are around or below the limit of quantitation. However, in the case of powdered milk, the standard values for the powder form before dissolution in hot water are about 7.7 times higher than the values. This means that a screening analysis to determine whether the concentration is below the standard value or not is possible with EDXRF, which can analyze powders as-is. Since the sensitivity of the ALTRACE for heavy metal elements was substantially improved in comparison with the conventional EDXRF (EDX-7000) by installing a high output X-ray tube, it is now possible to analyze samples with same sensitivity as the conventional instrument in only 1/10 the measurement time.

February 12, 2025 GMT